Institutions of higher education; intercollegiateathletics; student-athletes; compensation and representation. Prohibits anyprivate institution of higher education, baccalaureate public institution ofhigher education, athletic association, athletic conference, or otherorganization with authority over intercollegiate athletics from (i) providing aprospective student-athlete with compensation that results from the use of thestudent's name, image, or likeness; (ii) prohibiting or preventing astudent-athlete from earning from another individual or entity compensationthat results from the use of the student's name, image, or likeness, except incertain limited circumstances; (iii) prohibiting or preventing astudent-athlete from obtaining professional representation by an athlete agentor legal representation by an attorney licensed to practice law in theCommonwealth; or (iv) declaring ineligible for or revoking a scholarshipprovided to a student-athlete who earns compensation that results from the useof the student's name, image, or likeness. The bill prohibits any athleticassociation, athletic conference, or other organization with authority overintercollegiate athletics from prohibiting or preventing a private institutionof higher education or baccalaureate public institution of higher educationfrom becoming a member of or participating in intercollegiate athleticssponsored by such association, conference, or organization as a consequence ofthe compensation of a student-athlete at such institution that results from theuse of the student-athlete's name, image, or likeness. The foregoing provisionsof the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024. The bill alsorequires the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System to convene awork group consisting of such members as the Chancellor deems appropriate toconsider and make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly nolater July 1, 2022, relating to the compensation and representation ofstudent-athletes enrolled at comprehensive community colleges in theCommonwealth.
Sponsored bills
Earned paid sick time. Requires public and private employers with six or more employees to provide those employees with earned paid sick time. The measure provides for an employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave benefit for every 30 hours worked. An employee shall not use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. Employees shall not be entitled to use accrued earned paid sick time until the ninetieth calendar day following commencement of their employment, unless otherwise permitted by the employer. The bill provides that earned paid sick time may be used (i) for an employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care; (ii) to provide care to a family member under similar circumstances; (iii) when there is a closure of the employee's place of business or the employee's child's school or place of care due to a public health emergency; or (iv) when an employee's or employee's family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of their exposure to a communicable disease. The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation, if the second or successive violation occurs within two years of the previous violation. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with this measure and to collect specified amounts from the employer, which shall be awarded to the employee. Alternatively, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid earned sick time and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. The measure has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates HB 418 and HB 1684.
Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leadersand mentors; principal mentors; certain personnel positions and initiatives. Makesseveral changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishmentof units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning andprincipal mentorship statewide in Standard 1 and requiring the Board ofEducation to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leaderand teacher mentor programs in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changesrelating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishingschoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with highconcentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensationadjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board toassign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distributionof experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in thelocal school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacherleaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv)requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk studentsand granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v)lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi)requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing astudent-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boardsto employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) loweringthe ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors inelementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) requiring each school board toprovide at least four specialized student support positions, including schoolsocial workers, school psychologists, school nurses, and other licensed healthand behavioral positions, per 1,000 students.
Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol; removal of Robert E. Lee statue from National Statuary Hall Collection. Creates the Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol to provide for the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol and to recommend to the General Assembly as a replacement a statue of a prominent Virginia citizen of historic renown or renowned for distinguished civil or military service to be commemorated in the National Statuary Hall Collection.The Commission will consist of six members appointed as follows: one member of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; two nonlegislative citizen members who are Virginia or American historians appointed by the Governor; one nonlegislative citizen member appointed upon the vote of the Commission members appointed by the Speaker, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Governor; and the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, who serves ex officio with nonvoting privileges. The Department of Historic Resources will provide staff support to the Commission.The Commission will also be required to (i) select a sculptor for the new statue, with preference given to a sculptor from Virginia; (ii) estimate the costs associated with the replacement of the Robert E. Lee statue, including costs related to construction and placement of the new statue, for the removal and transfer of the Robert E. Lee statue, and for any unveiling ceremony of the new statue; and (iii) recommend to the General Assembly a suitable state, local, or private nonprofit history museum in the Commonwealth for placement of the Robert E. Lee statue.The bill requires the Commission to hold at least one public hearing prior to making any recommendation to the General Assembly on a new statue and requires the costs of the Commission's work to be borne by the Commission from such private funds as are collected by the Commission and general funds as are appropriated by the General Assembly.This bill was incorporated into HB 1406.
Virginia Redistricting Commission. Establishes theVirginia Redistricting Commission (the Commission). The Commission, tasked withestablishing districts for the United States House of Representatives and forthe Senate and the House of Delegates of the General Assembly, will consist ofeight legislative commissioners and eight citizen commissioners. Thelegislative commissioners consist of four members of the Senate of Virginia andfour members of the House of Delegates, with equal representation given to thepolitical parties having the highest and next highest number of members intheir respective houses. The citizen commissioners are chosen by a selectioncommittee consisting of five retired judges of the circuit courts of Virginia,from lists submitted to the selection committee by the Speaker of the House ofDelegates, the leader in the House of Delegates of the political party havingthe next highest number of members in the House of Delegates, the President protempore of the Senate of Virginia, and the leader in the Senate of thepolitical party having the next highest number of members in the Senate. TheCommission is required to submit to the General Assembly plans of districtswithin certain time periods, and the General Assembly may reject initial plansand provide information to the Commission regarding the reasons for rejectingsuch plans. The General Assembly is limited in its ability to amend plans untilmultiple plans have been submitted and rejected. The bill sets out criteria bywhich the districts are to be drawn, including equal population, racial andethnic fairness, contiguity, and compactness. Provisions to ensure publicparticipation in the redistricting process are included.
Guardianship; communication between close relatives andfriends of incapacitated persons; restricted communication procedures;notification of close relatives and friends. Provides that a guardian mayrestrict an incapacitated person's ability to communicate with, visit, orinteract with close relatives, as defined in the bill, and friends, as definedin the bill, only when necessary to prevent a reasonable expectation of seriousphysical or psychological harm or serious financial exploitation occurring tothe incapacitated person. The bill further sets up a procedure by which aperson whose visits, communication with, or interaction with an incapacitatedperson have been restricted may challenge such restriction in court and aprocedure by which a guardian may petition the court to restrict anincapacitated person's communication, visitation, and interaction rights with aclose relative or friend. The bill provides that the court may restrict anincapacitated person's communication, visitation, and interaction rights withsuch person when it finds by clear and convincing evidence that seriousphysical or psychological harm or serious financial exploitation wouldreasonably be expected to occur to such incapacitated person from suchcommunication, visitation, or interaction. The bill allows the court to requirea guardian found to have imposed restrictions or brought such a petition in badfaith or not for the benefit of the incapacitated person to pay or reimburse allor some of the incapacitated person's reasonable costs and fees. The bill alsospecifies that such a finding may be grounds for termination of theguardianship appointment. The bill requires the guardian to notify closerelatives and friends of the incapacitated person of certain life events of theincapacitated person, unless the guardian is notified in writing that any suchclose relative or friend does not wish to be notified or if there existsbetween such close relative or friend and the incapacitated person a protectiveorder or court order otherwise prohibiting contact.
Day of Women. Recognizes January 22 of each year as the Day of Women in Virginia and provides that January 22 of each year no longer be known as the Day of Tears in Virginia.
Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possessionof restricted firearm ammunition; penalty. Makes it a Class 5felony to manufacture, import, sell, transfer, or possess any restrictedfirearm ammunition, defined in current law as bullets, projectiles,or other types of ammunition that are (i) Teflon coated or coatedwith a similar product; (ii) commonly known as "KTW" bullets or"French Arcanes"; or (iii) cartridges containing bullets coated witha plastic substance with other than lead or lead alloy cores, jacketed bullets with other than lead or lead alloy cores, or cartridges ofwhich the bullet itself is wholly composed of a metal or metal alloyother than lead, but the definition does not include shotgun shellsor solid plastic bullets. The bill provides exceptions to the prohibitionand provides that any restricted ammunition possessed in violationof the law shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth.
Worker classification; penalties. Prohibits acontractor from classifying an individual who performs delivery services orconstruction labor services for the contractor as the contractor's independentcontractor if he is an employee of the contractor. An individual performingsuch services for a contractor shall be presumed to be an employee of thecontractor unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Laborand Industry that (i) the individual has been and will continue to be free fromcontrol or direction over the performance of the services performed by theindividual for wages, both under his contract of service and in fact; (ii) theservices are either outside the usual course of the business for which suchservices are performed or such services are performed outside of all the placesof business of the enterprise for which such services are performed; and (iii)such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation,profession, or business. Other factors applicable to such a determination inthe case of an individual performing construction labor services are whetherthe individual maintained a workplace that is subject to inspection pursuant tooccupational safety and health laws and whether the individual has beenassigned an experience rating tax rate for purposes of unemploymentcompensation. Violators are subject to civil penalties and debarment frompublic contracts. The measure requires a contractor entering into a publiccontract to provide an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, attesting that (a)each individual performing delivery services or construction labor services isproperly classified; (b) the contractor has completed a federal I-9 immigrationform and has such form on file for each employee; (c) the contractor hascomplied with requirements for participation with the E-verify program for eachemployee; (d) the contractor has no reasonable basis to believe that anyindividual performing services for such contractor is an undocumented worker;and (e) the contractor is not barred from contracting with the public body.
Hope Card Program; permanent protective orders. Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Courtof Virginia to develop and implement a Hope Card Program (the Program) for the issuance of a Hope Card to any person who has been issueda permanent protective order by any general district court, juvenileand domestic relations court, or circuit court. The bill states thata Hope Card issued pursuant to the Program shall be a durable, plastic, wallet-sized card containing essential information about the protectiveorder, such as the identifying information and characteristics ofthe person subject to the protective order, the issuance and expirationdate of the protective order, the terms of the protective order,and the names of any other persons protected by the protective order.